Pediatric advocacy: Advancement in academic institutions.

IMPACT: Children are facing many threats to their health today that require system change at a sweeping level to have real-world impact. Pediatricians are positioned as natural leaders to advocate for these critical community and policy changes. Academic medical center (AMC) leaders recognize the importance of this advocacy and clear steps can be taken to improve the structure to support pediatricians in their advocacy careers through faculty development and promotion, including standardized scholarly measurement of the outcomes.

Advancing early relational health: a collaborative exploration of a research agenda.

Here, we introduce the Early Relational Health (ERH) Learning Community's bold, large-scale, collaborative, data-driven and practice-informed research agenda focused on furthering our mechanistic understanding of ERH and identifying feasible and effective practices for making ERH promotion a routine and integrated component of pediatric primary care. The ERH Learning Community, formed by a team of parent/caregiver leaders, pediatric care clinicians, researchers, and early childhood development specialists, is a workgroup of Nurture Connection-a hub geared toward promoting ERH, i.e., the positive and nurturing relationship between young children and their parent(s)/caregiver(s), in families and communities nationwide. In response to the current child mental health crisis and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement promoting ERH, the ERH Learning Community held an in-person meeting at the AAP national headquarters in December 2022 where members collaboratively designed an integrated research agenda to advance ERH. This agenda weaves together community partners, clinicians, and academics, melding the principles of participatory engagement and human-centered design, such as early engagement, co-design, iterative feedback, and cultural humility. Here, we present gaps in the ERH literature that prompted this initiative and the co-design activity that led to this novel and iterative community-focused research agenda, with parents/caregivers at the core, and in close collaboration with pediatric clinicians for real-world promotion of ERH in the pediatric primary care setting.

Advocacy in Pediatric Academia: Charting a Path Forward.

Pediatricians are effective advocates to improve the health and well-being of children, yet there are limited avenues by which to pursue academic promotion based on these activities. Drawing on an expanded definition of scholarship, pediatric advocates can use the portfolio format to highlight the quantity, quality, and impact of advocacy activities. True congruence with research and education will only be achieved through recognition and value by institutions and organizations.

Sudden cardiac arrest response preparedness in Durham County schools.

Sudden cardiac arrest is an uncommon event with high morbidity and mortality. There are improved outcomes with early access to an automated external defibrillator and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We assessed the availability of automated external defibrillators and emergency cardiac arrest plans in schools. A cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted to determine the status of emergency cardiac arrest plans and automated external defibrillator presence. Most schools (88%) had access to an automated external defibrillator; however, trained staff and maintenance plans were highly variable. Automated external defibrillator availability did not differ by racial/ethnic or socio-economic composition; however, there was a relationship between number of automated external defibrillators and student population (p = 0.0030). The majority of schools either did not have (28%) or did not know if they had (36%) an emergency cardiac arrest plan. Even without state legislation, automated external defibrillators were largely available in schools. However, there remains a paucity of emergency cardiac arrest plans and automated external defibrillator maintenance plans.

Academic Careers in Advocacy: Aligning Institutional Values Through Use of an Advocacy Portfolio.

Academic children's hospitals must embrace advocacy as a central component of their missions to discover new knowledge and improve the health of the communities and patients they serve. To do so, they must ensure faculty have both the tools and the opportunities to develop and articulate the work of advocacy as an academic endeavor. This can be accomplished by integrating the work of advocacy at the community and policy-change levels into the traditional value systems of academic medicine, especially the promotions process, to establish its legitimacy. Academic pediatric institutions can support this transformation through robust training and professional development programs and establishing opportunities, resources, and leadership positions in advocacy. The adoption of an advocacy portfolio can be used to align these activities and accomplishments to institutional values and promotion. This alignment is crucial to supporting the advocacy work of pediatricians at a time in which community engagement and systems and policy change must be added to professional activities to ensure optimal outcomes for all children.

Transitioning to virtual interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on the family connects postpartum home visiting program activity.

In this paper, we analyze program activity for Family Connects (FC), an evidence-based postpartum home-visiting intervention, during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic began, FC transitioned to a virtual protocol which maintains key psychosocial components of the in-person protocol and adjusts health assessments to address the lack of in-person contact. Program performance is contrasted for periods before the pandemic onset (April 2019-March 2020) and after the onset (April 2020-March 2021), involving 10,280 scheduled visits and 6696 visited families (46% non-Hispanic white; 20% non-Hispanic Black; 23% Hispanic; and 10% other race). Post-pandemic onset, FC program participation rates were at 89.8% of pre-pandemic levels. Home visitors observed post-onset increases in families' concerns about home safety but declines in families' needs related to infant care. Community connections were facilitated for 42.9% of visited families post-pandemic onset compared to 51.1% pre-pandemic onset. We conclude that post-pandemic onset virtual delivery rates of FC declined but are high enough to merit continued implementation during a period when some families will decline in-person visits. When in-person visits are deemed safe per public health guidelines, the findings suggest a hybrid approach that could maximize program outreach by prioritizing in-person contact and offering virtual delivery as a second choice.

En este ensayo, analizamos la actividad de programación de Conexión de Familia (FC), una intervención de visitas a casa posteriores al parto con base en la evidencia, durante la pandemia COVID-19. Cuando comenzó la pandemia, FC pasó a un protocolo virtual el cual mantiene componentes sicosociales claves del protocolo presencial y ajusta las evaluaciones de salud para considerar la falta de contacto personal. La actuación del programa se contrasta por períodos antes del comienzo de la pandemia (abril 2019 - marzo 2020) y después del comienzo (abril 2020 - marzo 2021), lo cual involucra 10,280 visitas y 6,696 familias visitadas (46% blancas no hispanas, 20% negras no hispanas, 23% hispanas, 10% de otras razas). Al comienzo de la postpandemia, el nivel de participación en el programa FC estaba al 89.8% del nivel de prepandemia. Los visitantes a casa observaron aumentos posteriores al comienzo en preocupaciones de las familias sobre la seguridad del hogar, pero bajas en necesidades familiares relacionadas con el cuidado de los infantes. Las conexiones comunitarias se facilitaron para el 42.9% de las familias visitadas después del comienzo de la pandemia, comparadas con el 51.1% antes del comienzo de la pandemia. En resumen, la actividad de programación de FC declinó después del comienzo de la pandemia, pero se mantuvo suficientemente alta como para ameritar la continuación de la implementación durante un período cuando algunas familias rechazaron las visitas en persona. Cuando las visitas en persona se estiman seguras según las directrices de salud pública, los resultados indican que un acercamiento híbrido pudiera conducir al máximo el alcance del programa por medio de darle prioridad al contacto en persona y ofrecer el servicio virtual como segunda opción.

Dans cet article nous analysons l'activité de programme pour une Family Connects (FC), une intervention postpartum à domicile fondée sur des données probantes, durant la pandémie du COVID-19. Lorsque la pandémie a commencé la FC a transitionné à protocole virtuel qui maintient les composantes psychosociales clé du protocole en personne et ajusté les évaluations de santé afin de répondre au manque de contact en personne. La performance du programme est comparée pour des périodes avant le début de la pandémie (avril 2019-mars 2020) et après le début de la pandémie (avril 2020-mars 2021), comprenant 10280 visites programmées et 6696 familles visitées (46% de blancs n'étant pas hispaniques, 20% de noirs n'étant pas hispaniques, 23% d'hispaniques et 10% d'autres races). Les taux de participation au programme FC, après le début de la pandémie, étaient à 89,8% des niveaux avant pandémie. Les visiteurs à domicile ont observé des augmentations des inquiétudes des familles à propos de la sécurité à la maison après le début de la pandémie mais des déclins dans les besoins familiaux liés au soin du nourrisson. Les liens avec la communauté ont été facilités pour 42,9% des familles visitées après le début de la pandémie, comparé à 51,1% avant le début de la pandémie. Pour conclure, l'activité de programme du FC a décliné après le début de la pandémie mais est restée suffisamment élevée pour mériter une exécution continue durant une période où certaines familles ont décliné les visites à domicile. Quand les visites à domicile ont été estimées sûres suivant les directives de santé publique les résultats suggèrent qu'une approche hybride pourrait maximiser la sensibilisation au programme en privilégiant le contact en personne et en offrant une prestation virtuelle comme second choix.

Home Visiting Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Program Activity Analysis for Family Connects.

PURPOSE: Early reports highlighted challenges in delivering home visiting programs virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic but the extent of the changes in program implementation and their implications remains unknown. We examine program activity and families' perceptions of virtual home visiting during the first nine months of the pandemic using implementation data for Family Connects (FC), an evidence-based and MIECHV-eligible, postpartum nurse home visiting program. DESCRIPTION: Aggregate program implementation data for five FC sites for January-November of 2019 and 2020 are compared. The COVID-19 Modification Survey is used to analyze families' reactions to virtual program delivery. ASSESSMENT: Post-pandemic onset, FC's program completion rates amounted to 86% of the pre-pandemic activity level. Activity in key components of the intervention-home-visitor education and referrals to community agencies-was maintained at 98% and 87% of the pre-pandemic level respectively. However, education and referrals rates declined among families of color and low-income families. Finally, families reported a positive response to the program, with declines in feelings of isolation and increases in positive attitudes toward in-person medical care-seeking due to FC visits. CONCLUSIONS: During the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, families' interest in home visiting remained strong, performance metrics were maintained at high levels, and families responded positively to the virtual delivery of home visiting. Home visiting programs should continue implementation with virtual modifications during the remainder of the pandemic but attention is needed to address growing disparities in access to home visiting benefits among marginalized communities.

Impact of a universal perinatal home-visiting program on reduction in race disparities in maternal and child health: Two randomised controlled trials and a field quasi-experiment.

Background: Public health interventions must become accountable for reduction of race disparities, particularly among Black, Hispanic, and Non-Hispanic White families in the United States. Family Connects (FC) is a universal perinatal home-visiting program that assesses family-specific needs, offers support, and provides connections to community resources to address identified needs. Two previously-published randomised controlled trials and a field quasi-experiment have shown positive impact on maternal mental health, infant emergency medical care utilization, and government investigations for child maltreatment; however, these reports have not tested impact on reducing race disparities in these outcomes. The current report examined three questions in these trials: 1) the extent of race disparities in maternal and infant health and well-being, absent intervention; 2) whether intervention can be implemented with high reach and fidelity among all race groups; and 3) whether assignment to intervention reduces race disparities in important outcomes. Methods: Data were re-examined from: 1) a randomised controlled trial of 4777 birthing families in Durham, NC, USA; 2) a replication randomised controlled trial of 923 birthing families in Durham, NC, USA; and 3) a quasi-experiment of 988 birthing families in rural NC, USA. Families were classified as Black, Hispanic, Non-Hispanic White, or Other. Disparity reduction was tested by the interaction effect between treatment assignment and race. Findings: 1) In the absence of intervention, large and statistically significant differences between Black familes and Non-Hispanic White families were found in maternal anxiety, maternal depression, father non-support, child emergency medical care, and child maltreatment investigations. Few differences were found between Non-Hispanic White familes and Hispanic families.2) High rates of participation in treatment were found for each race group.3) Across studies, assignment to FC was associated with statistically significant reductions in 7 of 12 disparities, in maternal anxiety and depression, father non-support, infant emergency medical care, and child maltreatment investigations. Interpretation: This study provides a method, metric, and mandate to prioritise testing of whether public health interventions reduce race disparities in family outcomes. Funding: This research was supported by grant R01HD069981 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and a grant from The Duke Endowment.

Health Care Use Among Latinx Children After 2017 Executive Actions on Immigration.

BACKGROUND: US immigration policy changes may affect health care use among Latinx children. We hypothesized that January 2017 restrictive immigration executive actions would lead to decreased health care use among Latinx children. METHODS: We used controlled interrupted time series to estimate the effect of executive actions on outpatient cancellation or no-show rates from October 2016 to March 2017 ("immigration action period") among Latinx children in 4 health care systems in North Carolina. We included control groups of (1) non-Latinx children and (2) Latinx children from the same period in the previous year ("control period") to account for natural trends such as seasonality. RESULTS: In the immigration action period, 114 627 children contributed 314 092 appointments. In the control period, 107 657 children contributed 295 993 appointments. Relative to the control period, there was an immediate 5.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.40%-10.9%) decrease in cancellation rates among all Latinx children, but no sustained change in trend of cancellations and no change in no-show rates after executive immigration actions. Among uninsured Latinx children, there was an immediate 12.7% (95% CI: 2.3%-23.1%) decrease in cancellations; however, cancellations then increased by 2.4% (95% CI: 0.89%-3.9%) per week after immigration actions, an absolute increase of 15.5 cancellations per 100 appointments made. CONCLUSIONS: There was a sustained increase in cancellations among uninsured Latinx children after immigration actions, suggesting decreased health care use among uninsured Latinx children. Continued monitoring of effects of immigration policy on child health is needed, along with measures to ensure that all children receive necessary health care.